No. 2 Bucknell powers past Army in 2nd Game of Patriot League Championshipi

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The top-seeded Army West Point baseball team fell to No. 2 Bucknell by a score of 13-3 in the second game of the Patriot League Championship series on Wednesday afternoon at Johnson Stadium.

With the result, the Bison (22-25) leveled up the games between the sides at 1-1 as the Black Knights (30-22) earned an 8-7 walk-off victory in Tuesday's meeting. The Patriot League title will now be decided by a 1 p.m. finale on Thursday, May 26.

Bucknell built its lead early in game two and was ahead 6-1 by the end of the third inning. Army's lone tally came in the bottom of the first when Hunter Meade, who led off with a single, scored on a sac fly off the bat of Sam Ruta.

The Black Knights had a strong chance to do damage in the bottom of the fourth when Nick Manesis, Cam Cerruto and Derek Berg loaded up the bases but the rest of the lineup was unable to bring any of the runners home.

The Bison tacked on an additional six unanswered runs in the middle innings to stretch their advantage before adding two more in the top of the ninth. The Cadets responded in the bottom of the frame with a pair of scores, using back-to-back doubles from Carter Macias and Meade to reach their three-run total.

Seven different arms made appearances for Army, with starter Brian Dawson (4-2) getting hit with the loss. Robbie Buecker, Matthew Ronnebaum and Justin Lehman all emerged unscathed, while the other four members of the staff were tagged with at least one earned run.

What's NextArmy's pursuit of its fourth-straight conference title will end with a series finale on Thursday, May 26 on ESPN+. Game three at Johnson Stadium is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.